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Wonderful Fool
'Wonderful Fool '(おバカさん Obaka-san) is a manga adaptation of Shusaku Endo's 1959 light novel, with this version produced by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro and serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine through 1978. Overview A young man known as Takamori receives a letter from Singapore one day, informing him that his old school penpal Gaston Bonaparte is coming to visit in Japan. Takamori and his younger sister Tomoe are left stunned at the unusual, tall but plain foreigner and his foolish ways. Though Gaston's naivety leads others to ridicule or take advantage of him, the siblings realize that his hope in humanity is unshakeable. As with other Akatsuka adaptations of light novels, the story is abridged and condensed some to boil down the main points of the plot. Characters Aside from these characters, the presence of Akatsuka's Star System is shown throughout the work, such as the Japanese people who come to greet the ship from Singapore, or others seen in the streets gawking at Gaston's appearance. Gaston Bonaparte A French foreigner and the descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte, who comes to Japan in hopes of being a missionary. He is a gentle-hearted but foolhardy young man, who gets into humorous misunderstandings early on with the siblings when they see him try to tie a fundoshi around his neck as an apron or experiencing his other unorthdox ways and cultural clash. Gaston seems to trust and open up to just about anyone, trying to reason with them no matter how cruel or dangerous they may seem. Though he appears strong due to his bulky, tall build, he is in fact actually rather weak in a fight and can be easily overwhelmed, especially with his passive nature. In the climax of the series, Gaston is brutalized and beaten up during the fight at the lake, but still pleads for Endo to not kill the two former POW camp officers that are attacking them. After managing to get through to the other man and saving him with the last of his strength, Gaston and Endo both sink into the lake. The design of Gaston changes significantly between chapter 1 and chapter 2, with his face becoming less long and more broad, and his hair drawn much fuller and wavier. Takamori A simple young Japanese man who along with the rest of his family agrees to house Gaston for a time, but becomes confused and bothered by his lack of sense and his eccentric nature. He and his sister long for better lives and careers, but are too focused on lofty material goals and standards. He reappears by the end, wondering what happened to Gaston as officers investigate the lake where he was last seen. He and Tomoe reflect on their time with Gaston and what he had taught them, and resolve to live better lives because of the man. Tomoe Takamori's take-charge younger sister, who is left judging Gaston as an idiot and fool from the inconvenience he puts them through. She is depicted in a tall, shojo manga-style similar to that of Akatsuka's depiction of Nanase in House Jack Nana-chan along with Yasuko and Mayu in both versions of Itaike-kun. Tomoe grows concerned by the situation Gaston's wound up in, but arrives all too late by the end, seeing the investigation at the lake. She declares to her brother that Gaston is dead, as she tearfully reminisces on the man. However, she and Takamori are thankful for what he brought to their lives, and they spot a cloud in the sky that resembles the man. Endo A tall gangster who Gaston encounters in Tokyo, who takes him at gunpoint to be a partner in his mission but is shown to be constantly coughing up blood. Endo seeks revenge for his father's death in a POW camp and sets about on finding and executing those who were responsible before he himself dies of his tuberculosis. Gaston tries to make Endo give up on his pursuit of revenge,even as the man brutalizes him and doesn't seem to listen. He intervenes in Endo's final fight against the two officers (Kobayashi and Kanai), pleading with him to reconsider. Endo is left hesitant to fire his gun, and collapses, being saved momentarily by the bloodied Gaston who manages to scare away the other men. Serialization *Weekly Shonen Magazine: #7-14 Reprints * Futabasha: Reprinted in the "Power Comics" line. The 1977 version of Itaike-kun is included as extra content. * Shogakukan: The Power Comics volume was digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, and a print-on-demand version is also available through ComicPark. * eBookJapan: 1 volume. Itaike-kun is not included in this version. External Links Category:Manga Category:1970s works Category:Derivative works Category:Works serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine